Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The first thing I did after sketching in the door was to block in the darks. The sky was overcast, so the light and shadows weren't very strong.

I didn't take any more photos after this point as I ended up talking to so many people. I was set up right in front of the Lowell Thomas Museum. Having my car right there makes plein air painting so easy!!

In a previous post I talked about the stores and buildings that I went in looking for an interior scene. The following pictures were taken in the Marigold Mercantile.

Monday, September 23, 2013

This was my painting for the "Brush Rush". On Sunday everyone met at the Victor Elks' Club and at precisely 9:00 we were told that the Brush Rush would be at the Tractor Museum. We had until 11:30 to paint. That's not a lot of time to get to the location, chose a subject/composition, paint, and chat with all of the spectators. But, the pressure kind of makes you paint only what you need!

Again, my first step was to sketch in the air compressor and the shadows.

I think you can see 2 other artists painting down in the overflow equipment lot.

Next, I painted in the darks.

Then I painted in the compressor body. Lastly I painted the grass and the road.

At this point I thought I was done, ran out of time, and the Quick Draw was over. 2 1/2 hours

is not a lot of time to paint when you have to get to the location, pick your subject, plan,

paint and talk to all of the people who are there to watch!!

When I looked at this, I really wanted to add a big splash of cad orange or cad yellow deep somewhere on the compressor. It just looked a little dull. Of course, it is dull and faded; it's been sitting outside for decades! After the event was over, it was suggested that I switch the road color, which was almost the same value as the air compressor to red, which would create contrast and excitement. And, that was the color of the museum. So, voila, that's what I did and I think it's much better, don't you!?

Leroi Master Air Compressor

Oil on wrapped canvas, Ready to hang 11" x 14"

$295.00 + $10.00 s/h

I normally put my finished painting at the front of the post. But, I'm experimenting. I noticed on StatCounter that the posts where I showed my plein air set-up first got quadruple the number of hits. So, I'm posting the steps first, the finished piece last, and then the finished piece again on my next post....just to see the comparison.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

For the show at the end of the week of painting for the Victor Celebrates The Arts plein air event in Victor, Colorado, each artist could submit up to 5 paintings: 3 plein air, 1 interior, and 1 miniature (no larger than 4" x 6"). Having an interior category was great for painting during the noon/afternoon hours when the outside light doesn't have great light and shadows. It also allowed the artists easy access to almost any building. This was the 14th VCTA event and the people in the town are used to artists setting up all over the place during the week. There were so many great interiors: old stores, museums, homes, diners.

My piece was painted in a bedroom (mine) in the Fortune Club. The Fortune Club represents the bawdy side of old Victor. It was a famous gambling house and saloon and was reported to be one of the area's most talked about Red Light Social Clubs with rooms available on the second floor...now the Fortune Club Hotel. The Fortune Club was built in 1899 by Harry Lang with financial assistance from Adolph Coors. The club continued in operation until 1916 when prohibition came to Colorado and Harry Lang disappeared.

I stayed in room #4; my friend Rosemary stayed next door in room #3. These rooms were hosted by sisters Cleo and Hattie Fay who were eventually run out of town as their burlesque act was "so indecent as to shock the hardened men of the infamous Union Theater." You gotta wonder, how indecent was it??!!

My room was the right window in the center group of windows.

The Fortune Club Diner. They had incredible home made pies baked fresh daily!

Two old timers who ate at the diner everyday!! I love a town that has a great sense of humor!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

This is the finished painting from a few posts ago done during the Victor Celebrates The Arts plein air event. I thought that this was a great title for this piece. The houses are old and look like friends sitting together. They've been friends for a long time, so can just sit and enjoy the view without saying much. I wondered if the people who used to live in these houses decades (a century) ago were friends. I hope so. The houses are pretty close!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

After painting the mine (in the previous post) early in the morning, I headed over to Gold Field. One might say that Gold Field is a part of Victor, or on the edge of Victor, but in the 1890's it was it's

own town.

Recently I posted a piece of an aspen grove painted on a violet toned canvas (click here), I loved the result of violets peeking through. So, planning ahead I took a similarly toned canvas with me up to Victor. I rarely paint a 16" x 20" plein air. I got set up here about 10:30. And, headed back there at about that time three days in a row seeking the same light.

Here are some shots of Gold Field:

I guess this would have been the main street. That's the old City Hall and Fire Department to the left.

About Me

I am an oil painter from Colorado Springs, Colorado. I retired in May 2008 after 28 years of teaching art and now have more time to pursue my passions of painting and traveling. My life has revolved around my love of art, starting with afternoon art classes while in kindergarten, a degree in art education, sharing my passion with hundreds of students yearly, and painting as often as I can. This journal is a combination of my daily paintings, my studio and plein-air work, my classes and workshops, and pieces from my travels past and present.

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Most of my paintings are for sale either by using a PayPal button or through the Daily PaintWorks Auction. If you are interested in a piece from my early days of blogging, before I used PayPal, please email me and I'll add a button just for you!

My husband and I love to travel. If you do not hear back from me pretty quickly after a purchase, we are on a trip to a location where we don't have immediate access to the internet. It is advised to not always announce on social media that you'll be away from your home for a long period of time, so often I talk about my trips and travels after the fact. Don't fret, I'll get back to you as soon as I can about the purchased painting.